A number of readers have been asking about the status of bills that would change the federal benefits program. A new conference report has rolled several of these proposed benefits changes into one bill. Here is a summary of the these changes in the conference report.
If you are going to apply for disability retirement, there are common principles you will want to follow in order to increase your chances of success under either the FERS or CSRS retirement systems. Here is an explanation of how this process works.
A bill is moving through Congress that would allow FERS employees to count unused sick leave in computing retirement benefits. Is it more beneficial to take the leave or to save it for using in computing retirement benefits? Here are a few considerations–if this bill does get passed by Congress.
Some people under the FERS system may qualify for the Special Retirement Supplement. It only applies to employees who meet certain qualifications. Author John Grobe explains what it is and how it works–and offers advice that will be useful to any federal employee on planning for retirement.
At 5.8%, the 2009 COLA will be the highest increase for federal retireesin about 25 years.
What is the value of the compensation package for the average federal employee in 2006? Would you believe $111,180?
Happier, more optimistic people tend to be healthier and live longer. Do what makes you happy. And don’t postpone things (like dream trips) indefinitely, on the assumption that you can always take them later.
A former federal employee said the VA did not live up to the agreement when OPM disapproved her application for disability retirement.
A Postal Service employee gets a big win from the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. He had a sleep disorder that led to excessive drowsiness and he was late to work frequently. He gets another shot at disability retirement as a result of a new court decision.
A new report says “[t]he federal civilian workforce has become an elite island of secure and high-paid workers, separated from the ocean of private-sector American workers who must compete in today’s dynamic economy.”
